


The Emptiness of Knowledge

by bAsTarD_b1TcH



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Friendship, Light Angst, No Romance, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 09:08:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25468291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bAsTarD_b1TcH/pseuds/bAsTarD_b1TcH
Summary: Wan Shi Tong used to love humans, until he understood their true nature. The tale of the empty library and the few that ventured within it.(A/N: Honestly just playing around with these characters might repost things if i don't like how it first came out. I just think they interesting characters and have a lot that could be developed about them)
Relationships: Wan Shi Tong & Professor Zei
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> idk what im doing bro LMAOOOO

There was once a time Wan Shi Tong was quite proud of his library.

He had built this library centuries ago when he was much younger and much less wise. When he was just a fledgling Wan Shi Tong was fascinated by humans, they lived such remarkably short lives and yet they never stopped creating despite the odds being forever stacked against them. This will, this drive simply enthralled the all knowing owl. Something Wan Shi Tong admired and was drawn too. So as a gift for his favorite creatures he decided to open a library.

A place where those short lived humans can better themselves and create even more, and as a way for Wan Shi Tong to satisfy his own obsessive interest in humans. And for many years it was just that, his library was hailed as a sanctuary. Scholars from far and wide would come to see its majestic halls or have a chat with its extremely intelligent guardian spirit. Wan Shi Tong was happy then surrounded by intelligence and praise for his work, but that happiness was soon to leave along with his last remaining naivety. 

Thus when humans started asking for information on their neighboring countries, Wan Shi Tong thought nothing of it, just more insatiable human curiosity and that drive to learn and grow that was oh so common in humans. So, he gave them the information freely, so did he hand over the lives of thousands of innocents in his idiocy. 

Wan Shi Tong only realized his mistake a week later when one of his foxes brought back a scroll praising the general who had discovered their enemies greatest weakness and in turn annihilated them. The spirit was shocked, he never thought that his favorite little creatures could ever be so cruel. He sent out all his resident scholars and lived alone in the library for a week trying to puzzle out why they would have ever done such a thing. He paced around trying to figure out this confounding puzzle, when his answer came knocking at the door. 

At the door was a man heavily crippled by battle,blood still oozing from wounds and dripping onto his marble floor. He screamed at Wan Shi Tong begged him for knowledge so he could get his revenge, Wan Shi Tong will never forget that day it was the day he saw the true face of humanity, the insurmountable need to be better than others to be the person on top, humans were never curious like like Wan Shi Tong had always assumed. they were greedy. 

With this grave realization Wan Shi Tong did what he knew he must. 

On that day he closed the library.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2,,,,,, honesly chief i dont like this as much as ch 1, but i think its mostly cuz, cuz prof zei's perspective isnt as fun to write teehee. Professor Zei doesnt have a first name so i just made one up so now he is Liang Zei. honestly lmk what u think, idk how i feel about this one. Also, sorry if i have bad grammar at any point i did my best to proof read but i am Very tireddd. Aight enjoyy :^)

Chapter 2- 

This wasn't Liang Zei’s first trip into the vast desert, and it very likely won't be his last. To be exact this was the professor's 3rd trip into the vast unknown regions of the Si Wong desert. But still no sign of the fabled library he longed to find. 

He knew from experience that he had once again pushed himself too far as he teetered on the edge of unconsciousness, his throat was dry and his mouth felt gummy at the lack of water. After the past two hours of stumbling around he finally collapsed face down from exhaustion, unable to will his own muscles into motion to lift himself up. He knew that in the blistering heat he was under he didn't stand a chance if someone didn't find him soon. That perhaps he would die this journey, that he truly would never see the infamous library of his dreams. 

As he lay there at the mercy of the scorching rays Liang Zei reminisced on how life and childhood. How a well known professor took him under his wing after hearing of his famed passion for knowledge and his intelligence that far surpassed his years. He remembered how eagerly he consumed each book in his mentor’s personal library, as if he was a starved man who was having his first meal in days. 

At the thought of food his stomach howled in pain reminding him of his current empty stomach, which hadn't seen food in a few days as well. With a pained grunt he flipped himself, so he could watch the clouds to distract himself from the twisting pain of his empty stomach and hoarse throat. 

As he lay there Liang Zei thought about why he was out here in the first place, the legendary library of Wan Shi Tong. Zei first learned of the library through a gift from his mentor for his graduation from university, a small book detailing the famous and renowned libraries in history. And nestled in between the pages of this unassuming book would be a topic that would one day consume Liang Zei’s life, the legend of Wan Shi Tong's library. 

When he first read of the library it had sparked some mild curiosity, making him take a mental note to research it later. A couple years passed before he ever got the chance to do some more research on the library, Liang Zei’s reputation as a genius historian and researcher was well known and kept him extremely busy ever since his graduation. So when he finally got around to satisfying his mild curiosity, all he did was further pique his interest. 

The library had very few records on it, and the few vague references he found only mentioned its name and its grandeur before moving onto a different topic. With this curious mystery in mind, Zei did some more digging In the following few months. Inquiring other historians and professors, scourging ancient texts on his days off to find more hints on the mysterious library. 

In the following years Liang Zei had collected nearly, if not all the information in the world, of Wan Shi Tong’s fabled library. Yet he was still unsure if this was just a myth or legend or if it was truly a real place. He hoped it was the latter but,he had no real solid evidence to back up his belief. 

Until a couple months ago when he found his first solid lead. A small painting of the architecture of the library, by an unknown art student from hundred of years ago. But besides the beautiful facade of the building what really amazed Liang Zei was the tiny corner of the paper. Where resided not only the day the picture was, but also the location, the Si Wong Desert. 

If it had been any other professor, they would have copied down the information and neatly filed it with their already collected research, bound it together and put it on the shelf for it to be read at a later date. But Liang Zei wasn't any other professor, for he was a man of extreme curiosity and fiery passion. And once his passion for a subject was lit, like a raging fire, it would never die down. 

So, renowned Professor Liang Zei, to many’s dismay, liquidated his things and traveled off to the desert to find the object of his thirst for knowledge, his precious Wan Shi Tong library. 

Which is why he is here laying here in the scratching hot sands of the Si Wong Desert, on the brink of death. As he watched the sky transition between different blues he pondered if he perhaps made a mistake chasing his passion so recklessly. 

That maybe if he never knew of this library, he would not be dying so early and so painfully. But he quickly shook that thought out of his head, for he knew that even the mere idea of not knowing of the magnificent library of myth filled him with remorse. 

No, the only thing Liang Zei regretted was that he never saw the library with his own eyes, and with that thought he faded into dreams of libraries and affectionate foxes. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was nearly 2 days later when he woke up, only to find himself staring at the ceiling of his room in the inn that laid closest to the uncrossable desert. When he had asked the innkeeper what had happened, all he said was that some sand benders had brought him back and left quickly after. As he went back to his room to rest, he noticed one of his bags was missing, a small satchel containing a small coin purse, some food, and a couple of old novels. Liang Zei assumed that the food and coin were taken by the sandbenders as a thanks for their help. The only thing that bothered him was the missing books, as far as he knew nearly all the sand benders were illiterate. So why did they take his books? 

Unless they didn't, and someone else did. 

Liang Zei rubbed his chin deep in thought, wondering if those dreams of clever foxes were actually real.


End file.
